Helmet



Apr. 3, 1923. 1,450,379.

HELMET.

'HLED SEPT- 751920- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mntoz 1 E. McNARY. 1

HELMET 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3-- FILED SEPT- 7, 1920.

Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNITED STATES JAMES E. MONARY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN W. WEEKS, SECRETARY 1,450,379 PATENT OFFICE.

OF WAR OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

HELMET.

Application filed September 7, 1920. Serial No. 408,734.

(FILED UNDER THE AM or MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT. n, 625.

To all whom. it may concern:

" Be it known that I, JAMES E. MCNARY, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented an Improvement in Helmets,

of which the followingis a specification,

The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any of its officers or employees in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any other person in the United States, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to improvenients in helmets, especially of the type used in warfare.

An object of the invention is to provide a helmet that will afford no lodging point for missiles striking either directly or at an 'angle thereby protecting the wearer from the fire of small arms, machine guns, and fragments of shells.

' Another object of my invention is to provide a helmet of such shape that for one type of protection it will be worn in one 2 position while for another type of protection its position will be reversed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a helmet, the rim of which is in a horizontal plane, there being no offset to the rim at any oint.

Furt er objects of the invention are to allow a large space between the head and shell of the helmet and to provide a. helmet of light weight having a Very low center of gravity.

Reference is made in the following description to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1' is a front of a helmet constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, and Flg. 4 is a perspective view of the preferred type of lining.

My improved helmet ispreferably pressed from one piece of steel or other suitable material and the contour is such that this operation can be readily performed. The contour of the surface of the helmet is made up of gradually developed curves of substantial curvature. the're being no lodging point for missiles striking either directly or at an angle, So that a high degree of deflection is obtained.

In order to describe the contour of the shell of the helmet, reference is'made to coordinate axes shown as w-m and yg in Fig. 3, which axes intersect in the point 0. The vertical axis y-- i passes through the peak of the crown and the other axis w-w passesthrough-the centers of" curvature of the front and rear curves of the rim, said axes being perpendicular to each other.

It will be noted with reference to Fig. 1 that the curvature of the sides or shell of the helmet is symmetrical with regard to the axis 'y-y. While with reference to Fig: 2, it will be seen that from the peak of the crown to the front of the helmet or visor section the distance is about twenty per cent greater than the distance to the rear of the helmet, this great distance giving the frontal section a longer and more gradual curve than the rear section thereof. The curvature of the rear sect-ion is approximately that of the sides. The numbers given in Figs. 1 and 2 indicate the relative curvature of the different sections of the helmet with reference to the coordinate axes.

Two types of linings have been used in helmets and the one known as the three point lining, is the one which is by preference used in this case. This lining shown in Fig. 4 consists of three pads 12, 13 and 14, which est on the cranium. in three areas only,

leaving spaces between pads of about three inches in width where no pressure isfelt. Hence, between the padsthe blood may cir culate freely. The pads are adjusted by strings 15, which pass through the loops 17 and permit the lining to be accurately fitted to the head of the wearer. \Vith the lining attached to the shell at about the level of the loops 3, a large space is allowed between the l 1ead and the shell of the helmet approximating a uniform clearance of about one inch. The pads may beattached to the shell in any suitable manner. The usual manner is by attaching the pads to a member 18 which in turn is attached to the shell.

The advantage of this, in addition to the air space which adds comfort to-the wearer.

the centers of the front and rear circles or arcs lying in the horizontal axis m-w and the center of the arcs composing the sides of the rim, being offset from both coordinate axes. These centers for the front and rear arcs are designated 7 and 8, respectively, and thecenters of side arcs are indicated at 9 and 9. The metal forming the shell is bent over on itself at the rim, forming a thickened portion 10, corresponding points of which lie' in the same horizontal plane, and it will be also noted that the rim forms a gradual continuation of the curved contour of the shell so that bullets and shell fragments will be deflected therefrom.

When the helmet is in its normal position on the head of the soldier, the elongated section with the visor-like extension 11 is to the front and is Worn in this position. In

open fighting or advancing, this extension protects the face and chest from missiles striking at a downward angle and the bullets striking the helmet from the front in a horizontal direction will ricochet, owing to its elongated area and gradual contour.

In trench fighting the helmet is reversed and in this position the visor section 11 novides an apron-like protection to the baclr of the head, neck and spine, against fragments from shrapnel and indirect machine gun fire, common to trench warfare. It will be noted that this helmet almost completely encloses a head as it reaches to or below the lower part of the ear, thus'protecting the back of the neck and the temple and the eye region, as well, from fragments traveling in a horizontal direction and yet it does not interfere with the standard pack when the wearer is firin in prone position. Also the weight of this elmet is not excessive and its weight is warranted by the great protection afforded. The center of gravity is very low, ow-

ing to the large area and double thickness in the rim, which adds much to the comfort of wearin and stability. T he profile of this helmet w len facing the wearer resembles a bell and provides an artistic shape which is sufiiciently symmetrical to give it an attractive appearance.

The helmet constructed in accordance with of the helmet.

my invention is well balanced and when strapped in place is not liable to move relative to the head of the wearer. I

Having thus described my invention,-\vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A continuously curved reversible helmet of substantial convex curvature at the top and gradually changing at all points of its circumference from the convex curvature at the top to concave curvature at the rim, the distance from the apex of the helmet to the front extremity of the rim being approximately 20% greater than the distance from the apex to the rear extremity of the rim thereby affording protection to the face and chest, and upon reversal affording protection for the neck and spine.

2. A continuously curved reversible helmet of substantial convex curvature at the top and gradually changing at all points of its circumference from the convex curvature at the top to concave curvature at the rim, the front extremity of the rim extending at the front in slightly greater distance from the central vertical axis of said helmet than at the rear, whereby while preserving a proper balance of said helmet protection is afforded for the face and chest from descending missiles, and upon reversal protection is afforded for the back and spine.

3. A helmet comprising a shell of continuously curved form, said helmet being designed to leave a substantial space between the head of the wearer and said shell, said shell having a substantial convex curvature at the top and gradually changing at all points of its circumference from the convex curvature at the top to concave curvature at the rim, said rim being formed of greater thickness than the remainder of the shell so as to produce a low center of gravity of said shell, the said rim extending in one direction at slightly greater distance from the central vertical axis of said shell than in the remaining directions whereby protection is afforded to the face and chest without substantial interference with the proper balance JAMES E. MeNARY. 

